Your best people are your greatest asset

Attending a meeting of Executive Search Consultants in London it would appear that the Executive Search Sector is alive and well and a developing market. Good news for Insurance Executive Solutions! The meeting was organised by the proposed governing body – Association of Executive Search Consultants which has been around (but in the background) for 20 years or so. Regulation – all be it self regulation – appears to be coming our way. This is surely a good thing from the client and candidate perspective – adherence to professional standards, training and educational requirements for practicing, accountability etc.

However, of more relevance here is the data which was used to demonstrate the existence of the “War on Talent” which, it was suggested is as alive today as it was in 2003 when the phrase was ‘coined’ by Mckinsey Consulting.

US data suggests that the “Baby Boom” generation of 77million people will be replaced by 44million. In 2010, there will be a 33% decrease in the number of workers over the age of 40 and 50% of the top people in US companies will leave over the course of the next 5 years. Obviously, when this data is extrapolated to apply to the UK, it is possible to see that change is on the horizon. This will come as no surprise to many in the Insurance Industry – where, as one example, consolidation is already rife due in part to an ageing population of broker owner-directors who are part of that “Baby Boom” generation – and who now wish to spend more time playing golf or collecting stamps.

Is there an increasing war for talent at the executive level? In general terms, declining population figures would suggest that that there is, however, bearing in mind market consolidation, ‘internetisation’ and the ever-increasing automation of process by IT, there are surely fewer jobs to fill at all levels as well as at the executive level. Perhaps, to some degree these factors will cancel eachother out?

Further data from a global study suggests that 75% of HR executives put attracting and retaining talent as their main priority and 40% of employers worldwide say that they are having trouble finding talent. Is this simply a feature of population statistics or are they looking in the wrong places for the wrong people? What might be a contributing factor is poor selection processes – both on the part of the recruiter or head-hunter and on the part hiring company. In too many instances in our experience the needs of HR, line management and the business are poorly aligned. Add to this the agenda of the external supplier – to make money! Poor hiring decisions, could be said to be inevitable! The answer is, of course to build long-term relationships with trusted suppliers – in that way successful placements are part of a continuum and not one-off ‘scrambles’ to make fees. Our data shows that our greatest long-term successes are with business where we know the senior staff extremely well, we know as much (if not more) about the business as most of its employees and the senior team shares with us their vision, their plans and their aspirations. That way we can work effectively on their behalf – both reactively and proactively – and if there is a war on talent we are already having successes behind enemy lines.

Finally, other data which might be of interest includes the following - to date, 50% of American Nobel Prize winners were born overseas. In addition, 50% of all successful US PhD students have been immigrants and 25% of Silicon Valley was started by Indians and Chinese. Data shows that China and India are now successfully taking back ex-pats and interestingly the US is reducing the number of Visas issued from 195,000 in 2007 to 65,000 in 2008. Clearly the antiquated Western immigration systems are not focussing on the acquisition of talent. The over-used 1990’s phrase “people are your greatest asset” must, of course still ring true, but perhaps it should be qualified – “your best people are your greatest asset”. Thus, in a changing world, be clear in your definition of ‘best’ and go out there and recruit and retain them – their intellect, their energy and their ideas will surely drive your business forward.

While there may or may not be a war on talent, there is always a battle for the best!